Born in Akita, Tokushi Katsuhira came from a family of farmers and papermakers. In the middle of the 1920s he took a course in woodblock carving. Since he was already an experienced carver of dolls, and since his family was involved in papermaking, the step to woodblock printing was not a very big one to take. He was completely self-taught, and in his early years he was not inflenced by any other artist. He first exhibited with the Nihon S˘saku Hanga Ky˘kai in 1928, and later he participated in many other exhibitions. His prints deal with festivals and customs in Akita, and are of high and consistent quality.